Oily skin is shiny, thick and dull colored. Often, chronically oily skin has coarse pores and pimples and other embarrassing blemishes. Furthermore, chronically oily skin can be prone to developing blackheads. In this type of skin, the oil-producing sebaceous glands are overactive and produce more oil than is needed. The oil flows out of the follicles and gives the skin an undesirable greasy shine. The pores are enlarged and the skin has a coarse look. While oily skin is common in teenagers, it can occur at any age.
Generally, individuals having oily skin attempt to treat areas of oiliness in order to prevent outbreaks of acne and to diminish shininess. The conventional treatments available include soaps or surfactant based cleansers, astringents with alcohol and clay or mud masks. Oil absorbing materials such as clay or salt have also been used to attempt to treat this condition.
Individuals having oily or shiny skin conditions prefer a treatment that can remove the shine without drying the skin. However, there is a lack of effective skin care products on the market today that address this consumer need. Oil absorbing powders such as silica, aluminum starch and talc have been used in the cleansing products to help dry the skin surface oil, but they also tend to dry the skin and oily and shiny skin tend to come back quickly, usually in two to three hours.
Thus, it would be desirable to have compositions and methods of treatment that address the condition of oily skin while keeping skin hydrated.